Myanmar’s Military Retakes Key Town After Long Rebel Fight — But at What Cost?

After almost a year of hostilities, Myanmar’s military says it has finally pushed out rebel forces and reclaimed Nawnghkio, an important town in the country’s northeast.

Nawnghkio, located in Shan State, had been under the control of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) since July 2024. The rebels, part of the larger Three Brotherhood Alliance, had seized the settlement as part of an offensive that took the military aback.

According to the military, retaking the town took “566 armed engagements over 11 months.”

Nawnghkio isn’t just any town. It sits on a major highway linking central Myanmar with China and is less than 40km from Pyin Oo Lwin, home to the nation’s top military academy. It’s also about 80km from Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-biggest city — making its recapture a symbolic win for the embattled junta.

The TNLA, however, does not recognize defeat. In its own statement, the group said only that “heavy offensives” had made it hard to continue administrative work in the town, and that services had been relocated to safer areas.

Since the 2021 military coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government, Myanmar has been in open civil war. Ethnic armed groups and newly formed pro-democracy militias like the People’s Defence Force have joined forces to resist military rule. The Three Brotherhood Alliance — made up of the TNLA, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and the Arakan Army — has been fighting for greater autonomy for decades.

With input from Al Jazeeraa